Skip to main content

Batteries to fuel cells: the drones the ideal application?

Batteries to fuel cells based on hydrogen and methanol are designed and developed for some time and many actually notes the technology landscape have already had occasion to show, at various international events, their own interpretation. Among them Nokia, NEC, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Hitachi.

The power systems fuel cells, however, have had difficulty finding distribution in the consumer field, taking place only in a series of very vertical and niche applications in the professional market. Something, however, could soon change: at the CES the company Intelligent Energy has in fact shown a fuel cell power solution dedicated to the drone market, demonstrating the ability to achieve operational autonomies that exceed 60 minutes, confirming rumors in during the month of December around a mysterious prototype.

As observed EETimes, the company aims to drone prosumer market, where the flight times could easily be more than doubled compared to the 20 minutes that you can get with current technology. At present, two solutions are planned, developed following the directions of customers: one based on easily replaceable cartridges, and a more complex that involves the use of compressed gases and which offers an autonomy more extended. Overall for applications in the field of drones Intelligent Energy solutions can scale to cover requirements from 50W to 5000W.

Henri Winand, CEO of the company, commented: "We are watching the market for long drones. Already in 2000 we for the first time used in fuel cells to power a jet aircraft and drones are certainly the killer app for the batteries to cell fuel". Winand nourishes the ambition to become the ARM equivalent for fuel cells: in fact, the company holds an extensive patent catalog and intellectual property license that allows to provide personalized solutions composed of various elements of intellectual property in possession.

What is interesting is the signing of a letter of intent between the same Intelligent Energy and an unspecified "major drone manufacturer" (DJI? Yuneec?) For the development of drones battery-powered fuel cell. According to reports, the two companies will work together in this first quarter of 2016 to the development of technological solutions that increase the operational autonomy of the drones in flight. The goal is to reach a commercial agreement for the distribution of the solution.

In 2014 the company launched Upp, a fuel cell laptop battery with refillable cartridges available in the Apple UK store. The device is able to provide one week of battery life for a smartphone (a charging order), it received the "CE" certification and CSA "and has been declared safe for transportation on board aircraft.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Apple’s AI Push: Everything We Know About Apple Intelligence So Far

Apple’s WWDC 2025 confirmed what many suspected: Apple is finally making a serious leap into artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” the suite of AI-powered tools, enhancements, and integrations marks the company’s biggest software evolution in a decade. But unlike competitors racing to plug AI into everything, Apple is taking a slower, more deliberate approach — one rooted in privacy, on-device processing, and ecosystem synergy. If you’re wondering what Apple Intelligence actually is, how it works, and what it means for your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you’re in the right place. This article breaks it all down.   What Is Apple Intelligence? Let’s get the terminology clear first. Apple Intelligence isn’t a product — it’s a platform. It’s not just a chatbot. It’s a system-wide integration of generative AI, machine learning, and personal context awareness, embedded across Apple’s OS platforms. Think of it as a foundational AI layer stitched into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and m...

The Silent Revolution of On-Device AI: Why the Cloud Is No Longer King

Introduction For years, artificial intelligence has meant one thing: the cloud. Whether you’re asking ChatGPT a question, editing a photo with AI tools, or getting recommendations on Netflix — those decisions happen on distant servers, not your device. But that’s changing. Thanks to major advances in silicon, model compression, and memory architecture, AI is quietly migrating from giant data centres to the palm of your hand. Your phone, your laptop, your smartwatch — all are becoming AI engines in their own right. It’s a shift that redefines not just how AI works, but who controls it, how private it is, and what it can do for you. This article explores the rise of on-device AI — how it works, why it matters, and why the cloud’s days as the centre of the AI universe might be numbered. What Is On-Device AI? On-device AI refers to machine learning models that run locally on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or edge device — without needing constant access to the cloud. In practi...

Max Q: Psyche(d)

In this issue: SpaceX launches NASA asteroid mission, news from Relativity Space and more. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/h6Kjrde via IFTTT